Differential wheel assembly



Sept. 5, 1944. M. B. MORGAN 2,357,343

DIFFERENTIAL WHEEL ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 8,' 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 Sept. 5, 1944.

M. B. MORGAN DIFFERENTIAL WHEEL ASSEMBLY Filed Deo'. 8, 1941 2 snets-sheet 2 Patented Sept. 5, 1944 Mathew B. Morgan, Detroit,` Mich., assigner to The Timken-Detroit Axle Company, Detroit, *Y Mich., a corporation of Ohio I Application December 8, 1941, Serial No. 422,176

Claims.

My invention relates to dual wheel assemblies for vehicles and is particularly concerned with differential and braking arrangements for such dual wheel assemblies.

' It is a major object of the invention to provide a dual wheel assembly wherein the wheels novel differential mechanism, and having braking arrangements providing efficient braking action on both wheels under all conditions of operation. The invention is applicablev to drive or trailer axles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dual wheel assembly wherein the wheels are relatively rotatable and interconnected in a novel manner by special differential mechanism disposed inwardly of the inner wheel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dual wheel assembly for drive axles wherein the wheels are relatively rotatable and diierentially interconnected, and braking mechanism is applied directly and solely to only one wheel, the arrangements being such that the other wheel is uniformly braked through the diierential. Preferably the inner wheel is directly braked.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a dual wheel assembly for a full floating drive axle wherein the wheels are relatively rotatable and interconnected by novel differential arrangements in the drive axle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a, dual wheel assembly for a trailer axle wherein the wheels are relatively rotatable and differentially interconnected, and novel braking arrangements effective on the dilerential carrier are provided inwardly of the assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dual wheel assembly for supporting one end of an axle wherein the wheels are relatively rotatable, and a special bevel gear differential is located inwardly of the assembly with its side gears independently secured `to the wheels.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trailer axle assembly supported at opposite ends by differentially rotatable dual wheel assemblies and provided with special novel braking arrangements carried by the axle intermediste said dual wheel assemblies.

Further objects of the inventionfwill appear as the description proceeds'in connection with the appended claims and the annexed drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section illustrating a preferred embodiment of my inven- `are relatively rotatable and interconnected by tion as applied to a dual wheel assembly at one end of a full oating drive axle;

Figure 2 is an elevation partly in section of a further embodiment of the invention illustratlng its application to a dual wheel assembly at one end of a trailer o r non-driven axle assembly, and further showing the special brake arrangements for this construction; and

Figure 3 is an end elevation partly in section of the brake mechanism and its support on the trailer axle assembly of Figure 2. y

Referring to Figure l1, a non-rotatable axle `housing Il is enlarged at each outer end as at O'utwardly of the differential housing, memberr I4 is formed with an outwardly facing lateral shoulder I6 against which is seated the inner race of an annular anti-friction bearing assembly I1 carried by member I4. The outer race of bearing assembly Il is seated against the inwardly facing bottom of an internal shouldered recess I8 of an inner wheel hub member I9 surrounding and substantially concentric with member I4.

A second annularanti-friction bearing assembly 20 is mounted on member I4 near its outer end. An annular retainer 2|, anchored against inward displacement by a spring ring and groove arrangement at 2i', provides a lateral seat for the outer race of bearing assembly 20,

while the inner race of bearing assembly 2li is engaged by a suitable lock nut assembly 22 on the threaded outer end of member I4.

Nut 22, when tight, rigidly secures the bearing assemblies in spaced relation between the hub/ I9 and member I4 so that hub I9 is journalledy a brake drum 24' of conventional shape and size. An outer wheel hub member 25 is rotatably mounted on inner wheel hub member I9, the inner and outer hub members being separated by a freely rotatable cylindrical collar 26 having relatively smooth inner and outer surfaces .engaging the hub members and forming a, floating bearing between them. Outer hub member 25 is formed with an integral continuous external annular flange 21 which has secured thereto, as by the bolt and nut assemblies indicated at 28, the web of outer wheel 29 of the dual wheel assembly.

Flange 23V of the inner hub is provided laterally with an outwardly projecting integral annular rib 3l vwhich forms with the body of hub I9 an annular side recess 32 into which projects the inner end of outer hub member 25. A suitable grease seal 33V is secured to. rib 3| within recess 32 to close the annular space between rib 3| and the inner end of hub member 25.

Adjacent their inner ends, hub members I9 and 25 are shouldered externally and internally, re-

spectively, to provide opposed lateral faces 34 ands 35 contacting opposite sides of a flat annular hardened lsteel thrust Washer 36 freely rotatable with respect' to either of the hub members. Wash- 'er 36 also provides a thrust support for the inner end of collar 26.

The outer end of inner hub member I9 is formed with a. thickened annular section 31 havingan annular series of tapped holes 38 for receiving studs 39. Each stud 39 passes through a correspending tapered aperture 4| in a large annular flange 42 integral with the outer end of a sleeve 43 which extends through outer axle housing member I4. A hardened steel annular washer 46, corresponding to washer 36, is seated in an internal annular shoulder 40' on flange 42 providing a freely rotatable thrust bearing between flange 42 and the outer end face of hub member 25. A plurality of nuts 44, which' when tightened urge split tapered washers 45 into apertures 4|, rigidly and non-rotatably secure sleeve 43 to inner'hub member I9. Sleeve 43 is concentric with the hub members.

A vcup-shaped hub cap 46 disposed about the outer end of the hub assembly is provided closedby a flat plate 53 seated in a correspond ingly shaped depression in the outer surface of wall59.

At its inner end, sleeve 43 projects into the differential housing and has non-rotatably secured thereto, as by spline connection 54, a bevel gear 55 comprising one side gear of a'diferential assembly within the housing. Hub 56 of gear 55 is suitably rotatably supported on sleeve 43 at where the sleeve enters the differential housing.kk Opposite its toothed face, gear 55 isformed witli'a machined lateral face 58 which isseated against\one side of an annular hardened steel washer 59\freely rotatably disposed between face 58 and a corresponding opposing lateral face 5| cn the differential housing. Shaft 49 extends through the center of the differential spider and is non-rotatably secured as by splined connec- `tion 62 to hub 63 of a bevel gear 64 comprising lar hardened steel washer 1| disposed between 'i these faces provides a. freely rotatable floating thrust bearing between them.

Side gears 55 and 64 are meshed with bevel pinion 12 freely rotatable on a cylindrical stud 13 rigid with a differential spider, the latter preferably comprising a substantially cup-shaped integral extension 14 of the enlarged inner end of shaft 61 equipped with an annular pinion retaining rim 15 rigidly secured thereto as by bol-ts 16. Shaft end 14 and rim 15 are formed with opposed recesses for receiving and non-rotatably holding stud 13. A suitable concave-convex annular bearing washer 11 is provided between the back of pinion 12 and the adjacent face of the differential spider.

At the inner side of the differential housing, the outer end of axle shaft 61 is rotatably supported on the stationary axle housing by a large anti-friction bearing assembly 18. The inner race oi.' bearing 18 is seated on a suitable external shoulder 19 on enlarged section 60 of thev axle shaft and maintained against axial displacement by a snap ring fitting within an annular groove on shaft section 60. 'Ihe outer race of bearing 18 is seated against an internal shoulder 8| within housing end I2 and maintained against axial displacement by a snap ring 82 fitting Within an lannular groove in the interior of the housing.

Bolt assemblies I5, which secure the inner and outer sides of the differential housing together, also non-rotatably secure to the axle housing a rigid web 83 which carries the brake mechanism (not shown) adapted to act upon the interior of brake drum 24. Since this brake mechanism may be of any conventional expanding shoe type, it is believed that detailed description thereof is unnecessary.

Figure 1 illustrates only one end-of the axle and the other end of the axle is of 'duplicate construction, the parts merely being reversed to suit the location. 'Intermediate the ends of the axle. housing II is formed with the usual differential housing within which axle shafts 61 leading from the opposite dual wheel assembly are interconnected by the usual differential driving mechanism powered by the propeller shaft driven from the engine. Since these usual 'differential arrangements are of conventional type, anddo Vnot comprise part of the present invention, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.`r 7;,

Operation is divided equally and uniformly between sleeve 43 and shaft 49 so that wheels 24 and 29 have substantially the same power applied to them at all times during driving. Since wheels 24 and 29 are' mounted for relative rotation and are connected to the opposite side gears of the differen- 'tlal assembly, they are capable of rotating at different relative speeds to compensate for drive conditions where differences in travel are required for each wheel, as when the vehicle is turning a crner or where the road has an apprecia- I ble crown, for preventing scufng or sidewise drag l ment to be very satisfactory in drive axle assexn-j` blies, no brake drum being required for the outer wheel.

Braking force applied to drum 24 acts directly on wheel 24 and is transmitted through ange 23, inner hub I9, flange 42, sleeve 43, gear 55,

pinion 12, gear 64, shaft 49 and hub cap member 46 to outer wheel 29. As rotation of gear 55 is slowed upon'application of the braking force at 24', rotation of g'ear 64 and outer wheel 29 rigid 1ow end bosses as and su infwhich the innerends of'axle housings Il' leading from the opposite ldual wheel assemblies rare"suitably non-rotatably Secured. Brake mechanism support 88 preferably comprises an integralv frame, and vtherefore is a rigid part of the non-rotatable trailer axle housing assembly. Support 88 is longitudinally braced by external ribs |00.

Referring to the left side of support 88 in""l=ig ure 2, a stationary web 9| rigidly secured to support 88 as by bolts 92 carries a brake operating mechanism at opening 93 (not shown).` adapted to apply an expanding brake shoe mechanism (not shown) to-the interior of a brake drum 94.

- Brake drum 94 is bolted at 94 to a spider 95 formed with a central hub 95' splned at 96 to therewith is correspondingly positively slowed because pinion 12 is meshed with both gears 55 and 64 and driven axle shaft 61 rigid with the dilerential spider is prevented from possible rotation due to reaction against the braking force by the drive power maintained' thereon, the engine compression or the inertia of the vehicle drive system.

Thus the dual wheel assembly for the abovedescribed drive axle insures efficient transmission of the braking force to the outer wheel.

Trailer ale assembly Figure 2 illustrates the central part and one end of a trailer axle dual wheel assembly embodying the invention. The parts of Figure 2 corresponding to identical yparts in Figure 1 are numbered similarly to Figure 1, the chief disure 1, the trailer axle is provided with a spacer ring on the differential housing to permit the same axle housing end construction to be interchangeably used in the drive and trailer axles. This simplifies and reduces manufacture and assembly time and costs.

Another 'main distinction between the structures of Figure 1 and Figure 2'is that, in Figure 2, trailer axle shaft 86, the outer end of which is formed identically with drive axle shaft 61 in Figure 1, is an idle non-driven shaft rotatably supported adjacent its inner end in anti-friction bearing 81 carried by the inner end of housing I I. Housing l I' is formed identically with housing Il at its outer end.

Substantially centrally of the trailer axle .assembly, an enlarged brake mechanism support 88 is formed with integral centrally located holthe inner end of idle shaft 86 beyond bearing 81. A suitable grease retainer ring 91 closes the annular space between hub 95' andthe inner end of boss 89. Brake drum 94 is maintained on the end of shaft 86 by a lock washer and nut assembly 98 carried by the reduced threaded end 99 of shaft 86.

within the right side of brake support sa, aal' l' l other brake drum 91 and brake mechanisms corresponding to that at the left side of the support are arranged at the inner end of the idle trailer axle shaft 86 from the opposite dual wheel assembly. Any suitable brake operator may be provided as indicated at |02.

Thus each dual wheel assembly ofthe trailer axle is provided with an individual brake. The braking forces directly effective on each idle shaft 86 rigid with its associated differential spider are therefore equally and uniformly divided between associated wheels 24 and 29 because of the abovel described differential mechanism connecting/each of these Wheels with its shaft.

The invention is peculiarly advantageous in that it enables the use of full oating axle arrangement for dual wheel assemblies.

'I'he invention may be embodied in other specic formswithout departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present ernbodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being'lindicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and -aILchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. f

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent ist 1. In an axle assembly for wheeled vehicles, an axle housing made up of a hollow spindle section anda hollow support section having mating end faces.; means for securing said sections together in end-to-end relationship along a planenormal to their axes; said housing having an enlarged diameter bowl portion adjacent the mating faces/ of said sections; a rst wheel hub journalled on said spindle section and terminating at one ,end

, closely adjacent said bowl portion ina fiange member to which a wheel is adapted to be secured in subst'antiallir enclosing relationshipfto said bowl portion; a anged second hub, to' which a second wheel may be secured, journalled on said first hub for independent\coaxial rotation therewith;` a sleeve and a stub shaft mounted for coaxial rotation in said spindle section and `drivingly connected to said rst and second hubs respectively, said stub shaft and sleeve projecting into said .bowl portion and/carrying differential side gears; a differential ca/rrier mounted for rotation in said bowl portion and having a shaft member projecting into said hollow support sec-v 3. The axle construction defined in claim 1,

wherein said support section of said housing -comprises a second bowl portion containing a differential mechanism to which said shaft member is drivingly connected, and said brake means comprises a brake drum secured to the flange member of said rst hub.

4. The axle construction defined in claim 1,

wherein said brake means comprises a brake drum secured to the flange member of said first hub and a brake foundation plate rigidly secured to said housing adjacent the mating faces of said spindle and. support sections.

5. The axle construction defined in claim 1, wherein said brake means comprises a brake drum mounted on said shaft member and a brake -foundation structure mounted on said support section of said housing.

6. The axle construction defined in claim 1, wherein said brake means comprises a brake drum mounted on the end of said shaft member remote from said carrier, and a brake foundation plate mounted on said support section of said housing, together with an annular spacer on lthe flange member of said rst hub, between the latter and said wheel, and having a thickness substantially equal to that ofthe web of said brake drum.

7. The axle construction defined in claim 1, wherein the side gears on said sleeve and stub shaft are journalled in the spindle-section of said housing and said dierential carrier respectively, and the latter is journalled in the support section of said housing.

8. In a trailer axle, an axle housing made up of a hollow spindle section and a hollow support section having mating end faces; means for securing said sections together in aligned relationhub journalled on said first hub; a second wheel secured to the ange of said second hub; a sleeve and a stub shaft mounted for independent coaxial rotation in said spindle section and drivingly connected to said first and second hubs respectively, said sleeve and stub shaft projecting into said bowl portion of said housing and carrying differential side gears; a differential carrier Journalled in said bowl portion and having a shaft portion extending into said support section; mi-

ter gears on said carrier meshing with said side gears; and brake means for applying a braking action directly to the shaft portion of said carrier.

9. The axle construction defined in claim 8,

nwherein said bowl portion comprises a' deep portion of enlarged diameter on one of said housing sections and a shallow portion of enlarged diameter on the other of said housing sections and said mating faces are located at the periphery of said deep and shallow sections.

10. The axle construction defined in claim 8, wherein said bowl portion of said housing comprises flared portions on the neighboring ends of said spindle and support sections, and the side gears on said sleeve and shaft are .iournalled in said spindle and said differential carrier respectively, and the latter is journalled in the support section of said housing.

MA'I'HEW B. MORGAN. 

